SparkNotes: Young Goodman Brown

ADVANTAGES

After this climax of the story, Brown without faith or anyone to trust and believe in, he begins to panic and freak out. He gains knowledge about what his townspeople and his wife are actually hiding behind their Puritan facade and he loses his innocence. In the quotation he declares that there is no good on earth and invites the Devil to join him again and picks up his magical staff. He could no longer feel that the society informing the values of his superego were respectable. The downfall of the character of Goodman Brown into a life full of distrustfulness and depression is apparent by the conclusion of the story where the narrator writes that Brown became a “stern, a sad, a darkly meditative, if not a desperate man did he become from the night of that fearful dream… And when he had lived long, and was borne to his grave a hoary corpse, followed by Faith, an aged woman, and children and grandchildren, a good procession, besides neighbors not a few, they carved no hopeful verse upon his tombstone, for his dying hour was gloom” (Hawthorne 13).

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Are these critics’ statement correct? This essay will examine Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” to determine the conflict, climax and resolution.

Young Goodman Brown: Summary, Analysis & Symbolism

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I would fain be friends with you for their sake."MAIN CHARACTERSMINOR CHARACTERSGOODY CLOYSESTYLE & TONESTYLETONEFIGURATIVE LANGUAGEImagery and Diction"He [Brown] had taken a dreary road, darkened by all the gloomiest trees of the forest, which barely stood aside to let the narrow path creep through, and closed immediately behind."Allegory / ParableBrown: AdamTraveler: SatanFaith : EveSYMBOLISMFAITH'S PINK RIBBONFAITH The color pink = innocence & purity

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Women were watched carefully for unusual or 'suspicious' behavior in case of heresy."In truth, all through the haunted forest there could be nothing more frightful than the figure of Goodman Brown"Goodman BrownFAITHFaith: Wife of Young Goodman BrownTriggers his transition to corruptionThe Traveler"I have been as well aquainted with your family as with ever a one among the Puritans...""...They were my good friends, both; and many a pleasant walk have we had along this path, and returned merrily after midnight.

Literary Analysis of Young Goodman Brown ..

Lastly, I will examine Goodman Brown’s id to analyze his loss of faith and his eventual decline using the Freudian Psychoanalytic theory. As previously mentioned the id is the center of our instinct, our libido, and our desires. In the story, both temptation and sin are represented by the Devil with the snake-coiled staff. While his community represents the social aspect of his superego, his faith represents the religious aspect of his superego. In the story, the devil with his powerful, magical snake-coiled staff represent Brown’s id in that they lure and persuade him to question and eventually completely lose his faith. This is not only apparent by the fact that his staff seems to have magical powers, but by the fact that there is a snake wrapped around it, which is a Biblical reference and is used often to symbolize evil and sin. The image of the snake appears in the story of Adam and Eve and is also a story related to the story because of the theme of evil and sin. There are many similarities and connections between these two stories. The story of Adam and Eve in the Bible attempts to explain how evil and sin entered the world. Going back to the story of Young Goodman Brown, although Brown eventually leaves the physical location of the forest, mentally he stays there for the rest of his life. This also connects to the Biblical story of Adam and Eve. Just like Adam and Eve in a way lose their innocence and gained knowledge, so to did Goodman Brown. The only difference is that Brown is cursed with the knowledge that the Puritans in his community aren’t as holy and faithful as he originally perceived and now they are evil in his eyes.

Young Goodman Brown Flashcards | Quizlet

Which is it?YOUNG GOODMAN BROWNTRAVELER

The 'traveler' represents Goodman Brown's his own inner devil."...the second traveler was about fifty years old, apparently in the same rank of life as Goodman Brown, and bearing a considerable resemblance to him..."While both may be the same age but the reason why the traveler is 'older' than Goodman is because he is aged with wisdom.